I know y’all didn’t think this summer was going to pass without me saying ANYTHING about So You Think You Can Dance, did you? I’ve had a full plate and I STILL owe you guys a Tour Review from the last cast, but I am about to dive in headfirst and give my usual dish.

My intent was to start at the very beginning with the first week after….and I actually did watch and take notes. And then stuff happens, and the notes sat there. So I’ve decided in order to get up all on track, I’m going to share my notes as is to catch up the folks who haven’t seen anything AND to give you all a glimpse into my thought processes as I’m trying to get out these blogs. Like the regular show posts in previous years, I “type live,” which means I watch the show (usually on TiVo delay because the commercials make me impatient) and type as I’m watching for initial impressions, then watch again to fine-tune and make any corrections on anything I’ve gotten wrong. So I hope you enjoy!

Steven pair with Malene (Armen’s partner); last couple in the rehearsal room

Marie “Mary Poppins”—put through despite mediocre performance
Jessica (paired with Donovan)—gets to dance for her life
Amanda Mitchell (dancing with Marcquet)—Marcquet impresses and all get through
Also through: Tanisha, Armin, Serge, Landon

Steven’s back…and has a bad round. On his way home….
Shafeek and Marie also cut from jazz round

So naturally, Cat tells Jaja about Marie right before SHE has to dance….no pressure there….has to dance for her life. Considering Twitch’s brain exploded and oozed out of his ear, it’s safe to say she’s safe.

Round 3—Ballroom with Dmitry and Anya from Seasons 2 and 3 (I need you to make up your damn mind about the hair color—I finally resigned myself to the blonde); another overnight rehearsal.

Zach with Valerie Rockey (LA tapper)….well damn, they have some ballroom swag. It had issues but the performance level was excellent—and the judges took notice. Through to the next round.

SKKKKKKKR…..Jaja’s rehearsing to go up next, and she’s dancing with…..EMILIO?!? That’s right…it’s Emilio Dosal. What a swerve…the judges let him jump right in at callbacks due to last year’s withdrawal-causing injury. Good call though—they did the same with their buddy Phillip when he passed auditions but got pneumonia. Their IaMmE chemistry helped, because the heat and energy was on, and despite some errors they were good enough to go through.

Round 4—Contemporary with Travis Wall (assisted by Makenzie Dustman)
Bridget Whitman (Philadelphia auditions)—partnered with Landon Anderson; looked like there was a bobble in the middle where they fell off-balance….Bridget has to dance for her life; Landon (and Malene, who’s also on stage) get through.
Bridget channels her dad, dances for her life, and manages to get three yeses to move on.

At 50 contestants (29 boys, 21 girls) before the start of the group round

Group 1—Ryan Johnson, Ryan Redmond, Carly Blaney, Novien Yarber (Contemporary), Sarena Parr(?) (Latin Ballroom) “One Love”
The rumba/contemporary fusion did not go over well with the panel—in fact, EVERYONE called it a mess, and Nigel charges them with the task of deciding who goes home out of the group.

Three more groups got trashed (including Donovan’s)….and a bunch of folks get cut right off the top.

Next group up—Trenton Williams, Camille Upshaw (contemporary), Zach Everheart (tap), Malene Ostergaard (Latin ballroom), Johnny “Waacks” Gibson (waacking)
The first group to get a positive review and all go through.

And as One Love comes back and tells Nigel they could not in good conscience vote off any one person from their group, even if it means ALL of them go home….Nigel commends them for their loyalty and puts them through.

Down to 44 dancers and the final solos before Green Mile…..

Ricky Ubeda shaves and now looks like a cross between Billy Bell and Jakob Kerr. Since he dances a lot like Billy, that’s just fine.

Crew Battle—Control Freakz wins last week’s vote, so they’ll join the Syncopated Ladies, Academy of Villains and Wanted Ashiqz on the stage for the finale performance prize.

And now to the decisions…..

Ricky Ubeda is into the room first….considering the panel called him “the best dancer in the bunch” immediately after his solo, I’d be mightily surprised if they tell him no…..yeah, I knew better. He’s in.

Jessica Richens follows suit and is the first girl in, followed by ballerina Jacque LeWarne, hip-hop dance Teddy Coffey, contemporary dancer Stanley Glover (not surprised AT ALL), and jazz dancer Carly Blaney.
Emilio Dosal is back up….and back in. Nice try at a swerve, Adam. However, it’s a no for Jaja.

Novien gets cut AGAIN, as does Sarena, Armen AGAIN, and the one that pisses me off most, Johnny Waacks. Keep trying boo-boo….

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I’m thinking I’m surprised their’s only two hip hop dancers in the group, so I’m hoping they challenge all the dancer this season with a lot of hard hip hop routines. I thought the hip hop routine that Christopher and Jasmine did looked extremely difficult so more like that will make this season interesting.

All opinions expressed in original content are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thought or opinions of WordPress or its management. (Translation: I keeps it raw and real. Can't stand the heat? Stay out of the princess's realm. Can't play nice? I'll toss you like a used tissue and keep moving.)